


what is a soul (currency)

by DevinePhoenix



Category: Bleach
Genre: Contracts, Deity!Ichigo, Fox!Ichigo, Gen, Ichigo turns into a god, Inari God - Freeform, Inari having fun, Kitsune!Ichigo, Temporary Character Death, Time Travel Fix-It, kitsunegeddon, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 15:41:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16066205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DevinePhoenix/pseuds/DevinePhoenix
Summary: Ichigo can take a lot of deaths, but not this death.aka Ichigo makes bad decisions without Kisuke to stop him and sells his soul for another chance.





	what is a soul (currency)

**Author's Note:**

> alternate title, 'The Price of a Change'
> 
> I wanted to make a time travel fix it without annihilating the word or killing the entire cast. 
> 
> Only one person died, but it's the one person Ichigo refuses to let die.

The shrine loomed dark and quiet, as Ichigo stepped under the eaves. He loosely wrapped his fingers around the prayer rope and stared at the polished wooden offertory box before him with a grim look in his eye. He had fond memories of this shrine, smaller than the large one that Karakura held its festivals in but large enough to need more than one caretaker. He remembered when his mother used to bring him, every three months without fail. 

(She was buried not far from the place she had loved, in a lovely patch with small sprigs of foxglove blooming year-round)

He hadn’t been to the shrine since she died, the memories too sharp and painful where there was once happiness. Despite the years, the shrine looked exactly the same.

She had always told him of how her family had always been faithful worshippers to the shrine for years. They visited frequently and left multiple offerings whenever they could. When she finally tried to have a child, she had prayed for him, like her ancestors always had.

“I wanted a little boy with my hair,” She had pinched his cheeks. “And Inari-sama let me have you.”

He was older now, and he knew she must have offered something, promised something to the fox Deity in return for a healthy boy child. These kinds of deals rarely came free after all. What it was, he would never know as she took the bargain to the grave.

Too much had happened over the years.

Too much loss and heartbreak and death after death. Incident after incident, always struggling to beat insurmountable odds, while people died around him. He had tried, best he could to move with the changes, to get some closure. To accept that this was how life was, struggles and battles and death tapping at his heels.

But this last incident…

It was the last straw.

Kisuke Urahara was dead.

**_D e a d_ **

Maybe if it was anyone else, he would’ve mourned as usual and carried on. There would be quiet tears and a solid oath to prevent something similar happening to anyone else. Followed by days of non-stop training under the Shouten as he tried to become strong enough to prevent such a thing from ever happening again.

There would be no carrying on from this.

All those countless world-ending incidents may have been prevented by him hitting them, but Kisuke was the one to _solve_ them, putting the pieces together to prevent the worlds collapsing. The man had given everything of himself, constantly searching for answers, planning countermeasures, inventing impossible gadgets to surmount the odds.

Ichigo couldn’t accept this death.

Not _this_ death.

So, here he stood before Karakura’s Inari Shrine, like his ancestors before him, to ask a god for an impossible favour. They had asked for a life and in a way, he was also after a life. He tightened his grip on the thick prayer rope and rang three times. Then, he turned and sat firmly on the offertory box to wait. It wasn’t disrespect if _he_ was the offering, was it?

It didn’t take more than a few seconds for Inari to appear before him, suddenly **there** in between one moment and the next.

_Well aren’t you bold._

The Fox god was inhumanly beautiful, nine tails behind them gold in the way that only the highest of Heavenly foxes were. The figure was completely androgynous, dressed in gorgeous, flowing robes that seemed lit with their own light. To his surprise, the kami had long hair the exact shade of orange of his own. Bright fox orange.

(Suddenly the bright hair that Masaki and he shared, made way too much sense)

_You have not been faithful in your worship._ The god almost scolded, moving toward him with flowing steps. _But in honour of your family’s centuries of worship and your mother’s early death, I will let it slide just this once. I cannot fault a kit for poor manners when they were never taught to him._

“Thank you, Inari-sama.” Ichigo bowed, with all of the long-forgotten etiquette lessons drilled into him by his mother. “You are most gracious.”

_Now, what is your wish. I already know your price._

He narrowed his eyes at the god, but it was too late for him to back down now. This was his last resort, the last way he could think to save Kisuke.

“I need to undo something, go back and fix it so that it won’t come to pass.”

An elaborate fan flicked open to cover the deity’s lower face coyly. _“Hoh?”_

He pushed aside the sudden ache in his heart at seeing such a familiar motion. “Great Inari-sama,” His pleaded through the lump in his throat. “There have been too many disasters with this town as the focus. The strongest guardian of Karakura has died and I am not foolish to think I can save this town again. Please.”

_You talk very pretty._ The fox laughed, high-pitched, almost like a chitter. _But you’re not doing this for this place. Tell me the name of this brave soul you bargain for._

He bit his tongue in panic, offering a **name** to a kami was serious business. They could curse you with that knowledge, lay terrible curses woven into your name so deeply that your descendants would suffer for generations.

But.

They could also give great blessings, tying themselves and their good fortune to a family for generations through their **name**. Either way, this name was not Ichigo’s to give.

_Oh, don’t make that face._ Inari, snapped the fan shut, revealing a softer smile. _I couldn’t use that name even if you told me it. It is in your keeping, but it is not yours to **give**. _

 

“….Urahara Kisuke.”

 

The fox god let out a raucous cackle, at odds with their ethereal appearance. They clapped their black gloved hands together in glee.

_The weaver! Oh, I do adore that trickster!_

 “Will you let me save him?” He asked desperately, clinging to the goodwill they appeared to feel for the shopkeeper. “I know you’ve turned back the clock before.”

_Yes._ The deity agreed. _But only to reverse silly accidental deaths by your ancestor’s behest._

Their gaze was heavy and knowing. _But this is no small accident, you are asking for a great unweaving of time._

He said nothing, eyes respectfully lowered and hands clenched into fists at his side.

_You know the rules then?_ The deity asked, amusement gone.

Ichigo swallowed hard. “Yes.”

The fan snapped open again.

_Then you know the price._

“I offer myself.”

A wind began building, heavy with something not quite reiatsu. It was nature itself forcing him down to his knees. Inari was suddenly right **there** , palm like a firebrand on his skin as they cupped his jaw.

_The **name.**_ They hissed.

 

“I am Ichigo Kurosaki!” He screamed into their face.  

 

The Kitsune smiled with far too many teeth and Ichigo got a sinking feeling he had given them exactly what they wanted.

 

_I accept._

 

* * *

 

Ichi-- woke up exactly where he had been before, on top of the offertory box, staring out into the courtyard and the Tori gates. The world felt strange and distant, he felt small. Maybe because of the weight of deaths, maybe because he had thrown away the last thing he possessed for another chance.

Well not quite the last thing he possessed.

Aside from his name, gifted by his mother but now sold to a God, his only other true possession were his spirits. Though they were quiet, and had been since Kisuke had died, he could still feel them in the back his mind radiating approval.

The first indication that Inari had granted his wish, were the trees which were suddenly in full spring bloom, no longer the copper fall leaves of trees approaching winter.

The second indication was when he tried to get off the offertory box and proceeded to stumble and fall, landing nose first on the steps.

The third was the affronted yip that came out of his mouth from the impact.

That…was not a human noise.

Ichi— lay where he had fallen, sprawled on the stones and stared up in bafflement at the two black paws that were now his front legs.

“Holy SHIT!” He squawked.

The moment the words left his mouth, he was unspeakably grateful that he could still speak like a human. Was he like Yoruichi now? If this transformation was anything like Yoruichi’s then there was a good chance that he could be human shaped again, she may even be able to teach him how to turn back!

_Congratulations, Number-one-protector._ Inari’s voice echoed in his head full of glee. _You are the new heavenly kitsune of the Karakura Inari shrine._

“…what.”

_Oh did I forget to mention that?_ The fox god sounded unbearably smug. _You cannot exist as the same entity as you were before, especially since you were such a powerful Lynchpin as Ichigo. Your name, your body, your existence, they belong to me now._

He would be grinding his teeth if fox teeth were capable of that. “And how am I supposed to stop everything from happening if _I’m bound to a shrine, almighty Inari-sama_.”

_Mou, how rude. I never said you were a **Bound** god._

With those parting words, the overwhelming presence of Inari faded from the surroundings. The leaves of the trees gave a final loud rustle before falling silent.

He blinked at the sudden departure,

He wasn’t _just_ a fox, he was a kitsune, a being of legends and tales and one of the most powerful youkai species. He didn’t really know how to feel about his sudden divorce from humanity but since Zangetsu appeared unbothered, he decided it wasn’t anything to stress over. His spirits were fine, and he was in a position to save Kisuke, that’s all that really mattered. Besides, him and humanity had been going through a rough patch since he was fifteen.  

Mind at ease, he turned to the bigger problems. He was in the **past** , now he had to figure out how to stop all of the disasters from happening and ultimately, Kisuke’s undeserved death. That was Aizen, Muramasa, Ginjou and Ywach and a dozen other people with a bone to pick with soul society. He felt exhausted just thinking about it.

But first...

“I need a name.” Ichi-- said out loud, even though his heart hurt at leaving his name behind. It was the only lasting thing his mother had given him, a duty and a promise.

Number one protector.

Though he supposed that was a different Ichigo now, a name belonging to a young boy or teen running around Karakura without a care.

“Well we all know I suck at naming things.”  He sighed.

**"Yeah, King, what kind of name is Shiro anyway? You sound like a five-year old naming a puppy."**

“Yeah well, I could’ve called you blackberry.”

**"…please never name anything."**

“Well I have to name myself. If I can’t be number one, then I’ll just be ‘protector’. I guess I’m Mamoru now.”

A sharp pulse ran through his body, and he could _feel_ the world better. He hadn’t realized how dull everything had felt until he Named himself. He was properly anchored to the shrine now, properly anchored to this time, Mamoru of Karakura, the young fox-god.

**_"It’s not a bad name you’ve chosen."_** Ossan assured him.

He carefully rose to his feet, expecting more problems while he adapted to having four legs instead of two. To his surprise, his body moved easily, his acceptance of fox-hood and Naming allowing his mind to adapt far more quickly that he expected.

Before he could second guess himself, he took a running leap into the air. To his surprise, instead of the usual reiatsu footholds, his paws lit with gold fire as he landed neatly on the air.

“Huh.” Mamoru wiggled a paw in fascination. “I guess this is foxfire?”

He took a few more stumbling jumps, trying to get a handle on how it worked. Thankfully most of the movement seem instinctual, just like his reiatsu footholds had been before.

It wasn’t long before he was running across the sky, trying to figure out what year he had been dropped in.

Things were too similar to how they were during his life for this to be a hundred years in the past. That meant he couldn’t do anything to stop the Vizards from being hollowfied or prevent Kisuke’s exile.

…There! An old bakery of his childhood that had been shut down in his early teen years.

Okay so he was before Ichigo was eleven.

…

Honestly it would be far more sensible for him to just check on the Kurosaki family to see where in the timeline he was.

A magazine stand caught his attention as he blew past, another shop which he had never seen before. He ground to a halt and then looped back to the little shop.

Going near the Kurosaki family would undoubtedly alert Aizen and Kisuke ( _alive **alive** alive!)_ long before he was ready to deal with their plotting.

Though to be fair, he was going to head straight to Kisuke as soon as he checked the date. He could plan to an extent, but anything that he plotted would undoubtedly end with him clashing with the shopkeeper. It would be better to announce himself and explain before Kisuke got the wrong idea and labeled him an enemy. Having Kisuke as an enemy was the _worst possible outcome_. He’d rather get in a fist fight with Aizen and Ywach at the same time than try and take on Kisuke when he was being serious.

He wanted to check the date because, there were a few dates, days of tragedies, where he could do a lot of good by intervening as soon as possible. His stomach sank through the floor as he read the date on the newspaper.

 

July 17th

 

Two days after his birthday.

 

The day Masaki died.

 

And it was the year of his mother’s death.

**Author's Note:**

> ahaha Ichigo...you paid to save _one_ soul...  
>  Please be careful before you mess up continuity too bad.


End file.
